Especially during the first morning after a long weekend, the alarm clock ranks first in the most hated invention of all time. That irritating buzz signals that yes, the sweet days off the 9-5 are over. There’s no more sleeping in, no more watching TV all day and no more time to look for the latest and greatest movie to enjoy this afternoon. There’s work, work and more work.
Most of us look for remedies to feel better in the morning. Perhaps it’s a cup of extra strong coffee to awaken our senses or a healthy dose of Tylenol to cure our hangover. Yet, these are all bandits and not cures to the problem. Listen carefully folks. Our wakeupphobia has nothing to do with today but everything to do with yesterday.
- We don’t want to wake up because we slept too late.
- We don’t want to go to work because we are still tired.
- And we are tired because we never gave our bodies a chance to recover.
If we prepared ourselves to fail, how can we blame the alarm clock for doing its job?
From the Morning of a Long Weekend to 7am of the First Day of Retirement
Now imagine that it’s 7am of the first day of retirement:
Are you looking forward to the rest of your years without work or are you going to be sweating from your financial hangover?
Are you going to hate the alarm clock because it’s yelling at you for not having enough money to retire comfortably?
Those trying to find a Tylenol for their finances are not going to be very happy to hear that there’s no such pill. The yester-years was fun. In fact, all parties are amazing during the moment, but most of them leave a nasty headache in the morning after.
- If you want to begin the day with energy, then start thinking about how you spend the weekend.
- If you want to start your retirement feeling positive, then start thinking about how you spend the working years.
The choice is yours. Enjoy the coffee this morning, because your company is still paying for it.
- E*Trade IRA - Official Site
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{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
It is very imporatant to plan well in advance for one’s retirement. One of common mistakes most people make is to think that retirement is a long ahead and they can plan for it later. But time runs like crazy for them and they find themselves stumped by time and find themsleves in financial mess at the twilight of their life. Please put some money in your retirement fund NOW.
yeah..luckily i always do saving money else wil headache in future
Retirement may be the time when we are able to tap our highest productivity. If that’s the case, every day is a pre-production stage to work on the game plan. Another point is not to wait for some day in the distant future to do the things that are most meaningful. Work toward a purpose now, while you further the goals that will fund your future plans. Soon, your future will catch up and make your dreams possible.
Best Wishes,
Dex
I had a wonderful 3 day weekend – but then ALL my weekends are 3 days weekends due to my choice of living on less which allows me to work fewer hours. And I awoke at 5:30 am when the sun came in my window – as usual – without the alarm clock and left for work at 7:50…
I watched all the “big money” rolling thru town this weekend – toy haulers and ATV’s and fancy camping trailers and RV’s and big big boats and all the flatlanders (from over the mountain pass in the valley) and out of stater’s coming over to “Paradise” – where I live
And I thought about all that money being spent in pursuit of “happiness”, per se… and I then thought about what a great fantastic weekend I had, and decided that I spent a total of $7 for all my fun – that being gas money 
And I got to go clamming 3 mornings and limit out, pumped sandshrimp for bait, and went fishing for 3 days – great fried perch! Went up to the camps to visit friends and hang out, got in some sunbathing, some BBQ’s, lots of friends and company – and all for the $7, plus of course the food I would have spent on normally – with all the clams and fish for free.
It’s a matter of finding something that works for you – a way to save up for retirement – and the way I spent my weekend would be the way I would hope to spend retirement weekends (in May anyway) The simpler frugal life doesn’t work for everyone (it’s a mindset one must consciously adopt) – but then as we were enjoying our fresh clams and fried perch and homemade potato salad we said, “Wonder what the rich folks are eating today – sure can’t be this good! ” Of course, we say that a lot
You can plan till you’re blue in the face, but if a major recession hits just as you’re on the verge of retiring, you’re outta luck. You’re even lower on luck if, about the time you realize a failing economy’s depredations of your savings mean you’ll have to work till you’re 70 or 75, you get laid off at 64.
The heck with that! Who needs it? I’m goin’ clamming with Marci.
I believe the concept of retirement is receding for most of it, and was rather an artifact of the unusual post-War boom in the middle of the last century. But your point is still relevant – if we’re going to need to earn money in our 60s and 70s, we need to think about how we do that now.
@FunnyAboutMoney –
Found a new clam bed this week! Enjoy!
I think the point here is to learn to get by on very little money, and then one doesn’t have to worry a lot about the economy. If one is debt free, including the house, has a decent garden in the yard, some edible landscaping, has access to firewood, can self-harvest meat (clams, crabs, or fish or game), then it takes very little money to get by on.
For me, my ‘needs’ (utilities, gas, insurance, property taxes, food, meds) are about $450/month. Anything over that is gravy, so to speak